Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 163 / Thursday, August 24, 2023 / Notices 57941 

generally be available on the Federal 

eRulemaking Portal at https://

www.Regulations.gov and, after the 

comment period closes, on NIST’s 

website at https://www.nist.gov/newsevents/events/2023/12/2ndinternational-workshop-faircontainerized-computational-software. 

NIST will not accept comments 

accompanied by a request that part or 

all of the material be treated 

confidentially because of its business 

proprietary nature or for any other 

reason. Therefore, do not submit 

confidential business information or 

otherwise sensitive, protected, or 

personal information, such as account 

numbers, Social Security numbers, or 

names of other individuals 

For Public Meetings/Webcast: A 

December 5–7, 2023 public meeting will 

be held virtually by NIST. Details about 

attending the meeting and accessing the 

video webcast are available at https://

www.nist.gov/news-events/events/2023/ 

12/2nd-international-workshop-faircontainerized-computational-software. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. 

Peter Bajcsy, Project Lead, Software and 

Systems Division, Information 

Technology Laboratory, National 

Institute of Standards and Technology, 

100 Bureau Drive MS 2201, 

Gaithersburg, MD 20899, 301–975–2958, 

or by email to peter.bajcsy@nist.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

A virtual software container consists 

of a package of software code with all 

of the required elements to run 

regardless of the environment. For 

example, containers for a containerized 

application include all of the 

application’s system libraries and 

configuration files and can run on any 

host operating system. This process, 

known as containerization, ensures that 

applications are portable, scalable, and 

distributed more efficiently. 

The usage of software containers has 

been around for decades but has gained 

more popularity within the last ten 

years. With this increasing popularity of 

software containers as standardized 

units for deployment, research 

communities have adopted the practice 

of containerizing diverse software 

components such as algorithms, tools, 

or modules to run on institutional or 

commercially available computer 

cluster, cloud, or high-performance 

computing (HPC) resources, because 

running software containers on these 

platforms provides more opportunity for 

scalability with minimum resource 

usage. For example, in biomedical 

microscopy imaging, stakeholders cope 

with very large datasets as the 

advancements in microscope designs 

and automated acquisition generate 

terabyte-size image collections in a 

relative short time span. 

Stakeholders also strive to reuse 

containerized tools and reproduce 

complex workflow analyses through 

container-based workflows to improve 

researchers reproducibility of research 

processes to increase efficiency, 

reliability, and collaboration. 

Accordingly, there is an opportunity in 

biomedical microscopy imaging to 

improve the reuse and reproducibility of 

analyses via specifications of 

interoperable containerized algorithms 

(i.e., computational tools or software 

plugins) in order to create these 

container-based workflows (i.e., chained 

containerized algorithms). 

Given the complex analyses in 

working with software containers, 

heterogeneous file formats and storage 

mechanisms, a variety of scientific 

workflow engines, distributed 

computational and storage 

environments, and application 

programming interfaces to metadata 

registries and ontologies, the 

stakeholders are expected to be from 

academia, industry, and government. 

Public Meetings 

A public meeting will be held on 

December 5–7, 2023 as indicated in the 

DATES and ADDRESSES section. Requests 

to participate must be received via the 

meeting website at https://

www.nist.gov/news-events/events/2023/ 

12/2nd-international-workshop-faircontainerized-computational-software 

by December 1, 2023. 

Request for Information 

Respondents are encouraged—but are 

not required—to respond to each topic 

area and to present their responses after 

each topic area. The following topic 

areas cover the major areas about which 

NIST seeks comment. Respondents may 

organize their submissions in response 

to this RFI in any manner. Responses 

may include estimates, which should be 

identified as such. 

All relevant responses that comply 

with the requirements listed in the 

DATES and ADDRESSES sections of this 

RFI will be considered. 

NIST is requesting information related 

to the following topics: 

(1) Approaches to chain containerized 

computational software. 

(2) Important characteristics of sets of 

containerized computational software 

for reuse. 

(3) Methods to facilitate the 

characterization of containerized 

computational software. 

(4) Best practices for containerization 

of computational algorithms and for the 

interfaces between containerized 

algorithms accessing datasets in 

heterogeneous storage environments. 

(5) Best practices for finding 

containerized software tools and 

container-based workflows in online 

registries using application 

programming interfaces (APIs). 

(6) Best practices for executing 

container-based workflows using 

workflow engines and job schedulers for 

computational resource management in 

distributed computational 

environments. 

Authority: 15 U.S.C. 272(b) & (c); 15 

U.S.C. 278g–3. 

Alicia Chambers, 

NIST Executive Secretariat. 

[FR Doc. 2023–18263 Filed 8–23–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–13–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Institute of Standards and 

Technology 

Information Collection Activities; 

Submission to the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) for 

Review and Approval; Comment 

Request; iEdison System 

The Department of Commerce will 

submit the following information 

collection request to the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) for 

review and clearance in accordance 

with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 

1995, on or after the date of publication 

of this notice. We invite the general 

public and other Federal agencies to 

comment on proposed, and continuing 

information collections, which helps us 

assess the impact of our information 

collection requirements and minimize 

the public’s reporting burden. Public 

comments were previously requested 

via the Federal Register on May 4, 2023 

date during a 60-day comment period. 

This notice allows for an additional 30 

days for public comments. 

Agency: National Institute of 

Standards and Technology (NIST), 

Commerce. 

Title: iEdison System. 

OMB Control Number 0693–0090. 

Form Number(s): None. 

Type of Request: Regular, Revision of 

an Existing Collection. 

Number of Respondents: 3,063. 

Average Hours per Response: 

Invention Records: 1.25 

(approximately 5 times per year). 

Patent Records: .75 hours 

(approximately 5 times per year). 

Utilization Records: 25 minutes 

(approximately 30 times per year). 


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57942 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 163 / Thursday, August 24, 2023 / Notices 

Burden Hours: 

Invention Records: 19,144 hours. 

Patent Records: 11,486 hours. 

Utilization Records: 38,288 hours. 

Needs and Uses: The Bayh-Dole Act 

(35 U.S.C. 18) and its implementing 

regulations (37 CFR 401) allow for 

recipients of Federal research funding 

(Contractors) to retain ownership of 

inventions developed under Federal 

funding agreements. In exchange, the 

government retains certain rights to the 

invention, including a world-wide right 

to use by or on behalf of the U.S. 

government. The law also requires the 

Contractor to obtain permission for 

certain actions and fulfill reporting 

requirements including: 

a. Initial reporting of invention. 

b. Decision to retain title to invention. 

c. Filing of patent protection. 

d. Evidence of government support 

clause within patents. 

e. Submission of a license confirming 

the government’s rights. 

f. Notice if the Contractor is going to 

discontinue the pursuit or continuance 

of patent protection. 

g. Information related to the 

development and utilization of 

invention. 

h. Permission to assign to a third 

party; and 

i. Permission to waive domestic 

manufacturing requirements. 

This information is used for a variety 

of reasons. It allows the government to 

identify technologies to which the 

government has rights to use without 

additional payment or licensing. This 

acts as a time and cost-saving 

mechanism to avoid unnecessary 

negotiating and payment. It also 

provides data for calculation of return 

on investment (ROI) from Federal 

funding and identifies successful 

research programs. Thirdly, it allows the 

government the opportunity to timely 

protect inventions which the Contractor 

declines title or discontinues patent 

protection. Many agencies utilize the 

iEdison system, managed by NIST, to 

collect this information. Agencies that 

do not register with iEdison are required 

to collect this information 

independently. 

Historically, only NIH and DOE 

regularly requested that Contractors 

submit requests for reports on the 

development and utilization of an 

invention (utilization reports) within 

iEdison. However, there has been an 

increased interest across the government 

in the impact of federally funded 

research and resulting inventions as 

well as compliance with the Bayh-Dole 

requirements, especially as it relates to 

domestic manufacturing requirements. 

As a result, the interagency working 

group for Bayh-Dole decided that all 

agencies would begin to request this 

information, and the questions would be 

amended and expanded upon so that 

the agencies could get a clear picture of 

the commercialization plans for subject 

inventions, what the licensing 

landscape looked like, what products 

were resulting, and where those 

products were being manufactured. 

Another data point of particular 

interest across government relates to 

gender, and specifically how gender 

disparity may be present within the 

inventing and commercialization space. 

Collecting gender of the inventors 

within iEdison provides agencies 

previously unavailable data that they 

may use to conduct assessments under 

administrative policy guidance outlined 

in Executive Order 13985. NIST does 

not anticipate that the collection of this 

data will significantly affect the 

reporting burden. 

Affected Public: Business or other forprofit organizations; Not-for-profit 

institutions. 

Frequency: On occasion. 

Respondent’s Obligation: Required to 

obtain benefits. 

Legal Authority: The Bayh-Dole Act 

(35 U.S.C. 18) and its implementing 

regulations (37 CFR 401); 35 U.S.C. 200– 

212. 

This information collection request 

may be viewed at www.reginfo.gov. 

Follow the instructions to view the 

Department of Commerce collections 

currently under review by OMB. 

Written comments and 

recommendations for the proposed 

information collection should be 

submitted within 30 days of the 

publication of this notice on the 

following website www.reginfo.gov/ 

public/do/PRAMain. Find this 

particular information collection by 

selecting ‘‘Currently under 30-day 

Review—Open for Public Comments’’ or 

by using the search function and 

entering the title of the collection. 

Sheleen Dumas, 

Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of 

the Under Secretary of Economic Affairs, 

Commerce Department. 

[FR Doc. 2023–18160 Filed 8–23–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–13–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Institute of Standards and 

Technology 

Advisory Committee on Earthquake 

Hazards Reduction Meeting 

AGENCY: National Institute of Standards 

and Technology, Department of 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of open meeting. 

SUMMARY: The Advisory Committee on 

Earthquake Hazards Reduction (ACEHR 

or Committee) will hold an open virtual 

meeting via web conference on Monday, 

September 25, 2023, from 1:00 p.m. to 

5:00 p.m. Eastern Time. The primary 

purpose of this meeting is for the 

Committee to finalize their 2023 

Biennial Report on the Effectiveness of 

the National Earthquake Hazards 

Reduction Program (NEHRP). The final 

agenda will be posted on the NEHRP 

website at https://nehrp.gov/ 

committees/meetings.htm. 

DATES: The ACEHR will meet on 

Monday, September 25, 2023, from 1:00 

p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time. 

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held 

via web conference. For instructions on 

how to participate in the meeting, 

please see the SUPPLEMENTARY

INFORMATION section of this notice. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tina 

Faecke, Management and Program 

Analyst, NEHRP, Engineering 

Laboratory, NIST. Ms. Faecke’s email 

address is tina.faecke@nist.gov and her 

phone number is (240) 477–9841. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

Committee is composed of 12 members, 

appointed by the Director of NIST, who 

were selected for their established 

records of distinguished service in their 

professional community, their 

knowledge of issues affecting NEHRP, 

and to reflect the wide diversity of 

technical disciplines, competencies, and 

communities involved in earthquake 

hazards reduction. In addition, the 

Chairperson of the U.S. Geological 

Survey Scientific Earthquake Studies 

Advisory Committee serves as an exofficio member of the Committee. 

Pursuant to FACA, as amended, 5 

U.S.C. 1001 et seq., notice is hereby 

given that the ACEHR will meet on 

Monday, September 25, 2023, from 1:00 

p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time. The 

meeting will be open to the public and 

will be held via web conference. 

Interested members of the public will be 

able to participate in the meeting from 

remote locations. The primary purpose 

of this meeting is for the Committee to 

finalize their 2023 Biennial Report on 

the Effectiveness of NEHRP. The final 


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